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Friday Face-Off is an idea originally thought up by Books By Proxy which I stole from the fantastic The Tattooed Book Geek. The idea originally was to compare UK and US covers based on an assigned theme each week and choose the winning cover. I will be twisting it slightly: not specifically US and UK covers, just different editions.

This week’s theme is a cover featuring an alien: “Aliens-if they exist-are little green men with big eyes and spindly arms…or giant insects or something like a lumpy little creature.”

This week I delve deep into the reaches of time, back to the back end of the 19th Century with H.G. Wells’ science fiction classic, The War of the Worlds.

Cover A:

Cover B:

Cover C:

Cover D:

Cover E:

Cover F:

Cover G:

Cover H:

Cover I:

Cover J:

Cover K:

Cover L:

Cover M:

Cover N:

Cover O:

Cover P:

And the winner is… A DRAW!

It isn’t too often I come across a draw here in the Friday Face-Off, but then it isn’t often I find a book with such a rich seam of cover designs! Covers E and P win this for me. Cover E has a quirky style, and I love the works of the dark, twisted mind of Edward Gorey so that had to feature as a winner. It would have won single-handedly if not for cover P. This is what always comes to mind when I think of The War of The Worlds, hand in hand with Jeff Wayne’s iconic musical version of this amazing story.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree with my winner, or does one of the others work better for you? Let me know in the comments!

Next week I will be looking for a cover featuring playing cards: “Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well.”

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Steve Smith
A fan of many things including football, books, films, motorsports, travelling, tennis, photography, amongst other things. I also enjoy writing from time to time. Here purely to share my thoughts and opinions, and occasionally my attempts at writing with the world.